Yao Ming, evidence of the globalisation of the NBA.

The NBA are reaching out to China in the lead up to the Olympics there next year.

The recent National Basketball Asociation (NBA) match up between the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks in Houston gave great evidence of how the NBA is speeding its pace to infiltrate the Chinese market.

Six continents, in addition to the 24 North Americans were represented on the two rosters: Dikembe Mutombo, from Africa (Zaire); Andrew Bogut, from Australia; Dan Gadzuric, from Europe (born in the Netherlands) and Luis Scola, from South America (Argentina). However the real story was the much-anticipated first match-up of China’s greatest player, the Rockets Yao Ming and its top rising star, Yi Jianlian who starred for the Bucks in their 104-88 loss.

The game was an enormous event in China, where the time difference dictated an early Saturday morning start Asian time. It was broadcast on 19 television networks in the country,with a viewing audience of well over 200 million for the game.

NBA Commissioner David Stern has prioritised the rapid expansion of business operations in China, and this continues apace. Yao Ming was the catalyst, once he launched his NBA career in 2002. Since then the rising popularity of basketball in China has been remarkable.

The fact that 20 percent of NBA.com's web traffic comes from China is a strong indication that China is arguably the league's second most important market, or should be soon. In the long term, the fan base in the country could surpass the U.S. fan base in volume.

This popularity is now being translated into massive revenues for the NBA. Last season, the league earned more than $US50 million from China last year and gained sponsorships from more than 20 local enterprises. Capitalizing on the heavy presence of the Chinese media at the Houston game, the Rockets announced its new partnership with Chinese sports footwear company Anta.

In October, Stern outlined his vision for the region after the pre-season game between the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Shanghai. This followed the appointment of Chen Yongzheng, former head of Microsoft China, to lead the NBA expansion into the country.